Friends of the Arboretum Annual Plant Distribution

I’ve heard rumors of this event for years. Members show up at the JC Raulston Arboretum on a Saturday morning to rush a field of plants to help empty the greenhouses. This April I finally became a member so my husband and I could gain access to the newsletter, member pricing on events, and passes to this event in particular.

Last night we drafted our list of desired plants from the 80 plants listed, and this morning we watched the pre-game video to make sure we knew the rules. We loaded up Joe’s truck with a wagon, camp chairs and stopped for Bojangles on the way. We were amazed at the number of plant lovers that turned out and the 4000+ plants split up into six identical plots with tagged in the big field. There were bonus plants in the middle that weren’t on the list of 80, and it seemed the old-timers knew to check there for the really good stuff.

Joe and I each came away with 10 plants, one of which we know we don’t have room for (potentially 30 meter tall Japanese Wingnut, anyone?). He did much better at going down the list, and we surprisingly didn’t step on each others’ toes with what numbers we crossed off. I did, however, literally step on another woman’s toes when I was backing up to get behind the starting line. Sorry! Joe was much more strategic, and I admittedly got a little flustered in between rounds.

Here’s our score list:

Acer palmatum – Japanese maple
Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’ – golden sweet flag
Adiantum ×mairisii – Mairis’s maidenhair fern
Allim lusitanicum “mountain garlic”
Aloe ‘Johnson’s Hybrid’
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (compact form)
Athyrium ‘Branford Beauty’ – painted lady fern
Camellia
Chilopsis linearis ‘Bubba’ – desert willow
Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Beauty’ – bloodtwig dogwood
Disporopsis pernyi – evergreen Solomon’s seal
Echinodorus bracteatus ‘Lantau Lady’ – Amazon sword
Leonotis leonurus – lion’s ear
Piper kadsura ‘Pied Piper’ – variegated Japanese pepper
Pterocarya rhoifolia – Japanese wingnut
Salix ‘Flame’ – red-stem willow
Silene uniflora subsp. prostrata – sea campion
Titanotrichum oldhamii – gold false foxglove
Tricyrtis ‘Imperial Banner’ – variegated toad-lily
Viburnum foetidum (variegated) – stinking viburnum